I appreciate your contribution to the debate, Eric, but I still think you are off target. The US is neither pre-1914 Germany nor pre-1914 Britain. A better example might be the circumstances that led to the formation of Canada's New Democratic Party in 1959-1962.
There was a mostly agrarian party with a social-democratic outlook and platform, independent of the Liberals, the CCF, which had already governed Saskatchewan for two decades. David Lewis, its national secretary, who was also a national official of the Steelworkers Union, proposed the formation of a new party with more formal affiliation to the labour bureaucracies ... and that is what happened, in a nutshell ... I may be misremembering some of the details, you could check the history.
From a practical standpoint, the system here in the U.S. does not lend itself well to third parties. The two major parties have control in most states' primary systems and, were a third party to rise with any momentum (be it labor, or otherwise), it would likely be absorbed into the larger party...or strangled out by the party.
I appreciate your contribution to the debate, Eric, but I still think you are off target. The US is neither pre-1914 Germany nor pre-1914 Britain. A better example might be the circumstances that led to the formation of Canada's New Democratic Party in 1959-1962.
There was a mostly agrarian party with a social-democratic outlook and platform, independent of the Liberals, the CCF, which had already governed Saskatchewan for two decades. David Lewis, its national secretary, who was also a national official of the Steelworkers Union, proposed the formation of a new party with more formal affiliation to the labour bureaucracies ... and that is what happened, in a nutshell ... I may be misremembering some of the details, you could check the history.
It is interesting that this debate was had more than 100 years ago...and is still being had.
Of particular interest on this topic, you may wish to read Samuel Gompers 1918 address to the AF of L and his rationale. https://archive.org/details/shouldpoliticall00gompiala/page/n1/mode/2up?view=theater
From a practical standpoint, the system here in the U.S. does not lend itself well to third parties. The two major parties have control in most states' primary systems and, were a third party to rise with any momentum (be it labor, or otherwise), it would likely be absorbed into the larger party...or strangled out by the party.